ARISTOLOCHIA. 



Stems climbing to the tops of trees, taper, flexuose ; shoots stri- 

 ated, downy or woolly. Leaves on long stalks, cordate, entire, with 

 a long point, smooth and roughish above, downy beneath. Peduncles 

 axillary, solitary, in pairs, or in threes, four times shorter than the 

 petioles. Calyx brownish pink, 2 inches long, tubular, villous inside, 

 bluntly hexagonal ; with an oblique 1-lipped, tongue-shaped, glandular 

 limb which is reflexed at the apex. Capsule oblong, bluntly hex- 

 angular. The stems when stripped of their bark resemble cords, and 

 are employed in Peru as ropes. Used by the Peruvian Indians as a 

 remedy for dysenteries, malignant inflammatory fevers, colds, rheumatic 

 pains, and various diseases arising from fatigue. Antiseptic, odontalgic, 

 sudorific. Flavour bitter, camphorous, balsamic. The Indians also 

 apply it pounded or bruised fresh to the bites and stings of reptiles and 

 insects, as a powerful antidote to their poison. Ruiz. 



706. A. trilobata Linn, sp.pl. 1361. Willd. iv. 151. Swartz 



obs. 34-1. Jacq. eclog. t. 26. Bot. reg. xvii. t. 1399 A. trifida 



Lam. enc. ii. 249. Woods in the West Indies. 



Stem shrubby, twining, round. Leaves on long stalks, cordate, 

 3-lobed; the lobes oblong, obtuse, nearly equal; stipules combined 

 into 1 large, cordate, roundish leaf. Flowers solitary; the pe- 

 duncle and ovary taken together shorter than the petiole, large, pale- 

 yellow. Tube of the calyx inflated, cylindrical, angular, with 6 short 

 obtuse unequal spines at the base ; broken inwards in the middle, 

 2-lipped; one of the lips being very large, cordate, brown-purple, 

 puckered, with a very long, twisted linear point or tail. Reputed to 

 be an antidote to the bites of serpents. If taken in doses of from 6-20 

 grains it is a sudden and powerful sudorific. 



707. A. anguicida Linn. sp. pi. 1362. Jacq. amer. 232. t. 144. 

 Thickets of Carthagena. 



Roots branched, pithy, filled with a bitter orange nauseous fetid 

 juice. Stems round, at the base corky, at the upper part smoothish, 

 striated, twining; about 10 feet high. Stipules large, solitary, con- 

 verging. Leaves cordate-acuminate, entire, flat, smooth on each side, 

 netted underneath, with a short downy stalk. Peduncles axillary, solitary. 

 Flowers greenish, with purple veins ; the limb on one side lanceolate 

 acuminate. The juice of the root chewed and introduced into the 

 mouth of a serpent so stupifies it that it may for a long time be handled 

 with impunity ; if the reptile is compelled to swallow a few drops it 

 perishes in convulsions. The root is also reputed to be an antidote to 

 serpent-bites. Jacquin y 1. c. 



708. A. Serpentaria Linn, sp.pl. 1363. Woodv. t. 106. Bi- 

 gelow med. bot. iii. t. 49. A. officinalis N. and E. handb. ii. 400. 

 pi. med. t. 144. Woods in the southern and middle parts of 

 the United States. 



Height most commonly under a foot. Root extremely fibrous, and 

 sending up a number of stems, which are simple or slightly branched, 

 jointed, flexuose, and often with a reddish tinge. Leaves alternate, on 

 short petioles, oblong, entire, acuminate, heart-shaped, at base 3-nerved. 

 The flowers grow close to the ground, like those of Asarum ; they 

 have a stiff leathery texture, and a dull brownish purple colour. The 

 peduncle which supports them has one or more bracts, and gradually 

 343 z 4 



